man walk by on impossibly tall stilts, ‘I used to be a bit scared of you.’
‘Of me? Why?’
‘You had that boyfriend – what was his name?’
‘Eliot?’
‘That’s the one – with a shaved head.’
‘Yeah.’
‘You both used to seem so confident and cool.’
I laughed.
‘No, really. I used to look at you with your weird clothes and think you were this hip couple.’
‘So when did you discover the truth and stop being scared of me?’
‘I didn’t. I was terrified of ringing you up.’
I smiled and put my arm through his. ‘Well, I’m very glad you did. You know what I want now?’
‘What?’
‘One of those enormous chocolate brownies.’
After
‘This is all wrong,’ Sonia said.
‘Wrong? How wrong?’
‘It’s not the way I remembered it.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Look.’ She gestured out of the window at the shallow gravel shore where boats were turned turtle and lay under their tarpaulins in a long line.
‘Yes?’
‘Bonnie.’ She spoke with a stern patience. ‘How are we going to push a car into this? I thought there was a place that went down steeply so we could simply let off the handbrake and roll it.’
‘What shall we do?’ I heard the wildness in my voice.
‘Hang on.’
She got out of the car and I joined her. Our feet crunched over the gravel and we stood by the water’s edge, where little ripples ran over the stones.
‘That’s what I was remembering.’ Sonia pointed to her left. I could just make out the steep concrete sides of the reservoir wall.
‘We can’t get the car there.’
‘That’s right.’
‘So it’s no good.’
‘We have to think of something else.’
‘What?’
‘Give me a moment.’
‘We could drive the car somewhere else. Push it off a cliff.’
‘Which cliff?’
‘I don’t know. Cornwall? They have cliffs in Cornwall, don’t they?’
‘You want us to drive to Cornwall?’
‘It’s an idea anyway.’
‘It’ll be light by the time we get there.’
‘We could drive there, find somewhere, wait until nighttime and then do it.’
‘I don’t think that sounds like a good idea at all.’
‘What, then?’
‘We have to do this now, Bonnie. And here.’
‘We can’t. You’ve just said so. If we tried, it would just get stuck with the water up to its sills and then where would we be?’
‘We can’t push the car in. Maybe that would be riskier anyway.’
‘Riskier than what?’
‘Than just putting it in the water.’
‘You mean the body?’
Sonia crouched down, twitched the tarpaulin off one of the boats and craned to peer underneath. ‘There’s a pair of oars.’
‘I don’t like this.’
‘We could put it in the boat, row out and push it in there.’
‘You think?’
‘We’d have to weigh it down first.’ She looked around. ‘There are stones and bits of rubble.’
I sat down on the shore. The inky water glinted and slapped and a sharp breeze stung my cheeks. I put my head on my knees and wrapped my arms around my legs. If I could make myself very, very small, perhaps I could disappear. ‘I’m not sure I can do this.’
‘It’s too late for that, Bonnie,’ Sonia said, with a hissing urgency. ‘If you can’t do it for yourself, you’re going to have to do it for me. You got me into this.’
‘You’re right.’ I stood up again. ‘Sorry. Tell me what to do.’
I walked along the shore, picking up rubble and large stones, then returned to Sonia who had turned over a small boat. ‘Help me drag this to the shore,’ she said.
Together we pulled it along the shingle until its bow was nosing the water.
‘Now the body.’
Pulling it out of the boot was even harder than getting it in. We had to haul it by the arms. The rug slid off and there was no way of escaping him: how the head bumped and lolled, the legs splayed, the weight of him. I kept my eyes half shut, or sometimes closed them entirely, pulling and jerking blindly. At last he tumbled out and lay at our feet.
‘Of me? Why?’
‘You had that boyfriend – what was his name?’
‘Eliot?’
‘That’s the one – with a shaved head.’
‘Yeah.’
‘You both used to seem so confident and cool.’
I laughed.
‘No, really. I used to look at you with your weird clothes and think you were this hip couple.’
‘So when did you discover the truth and stop being scared of me?’
‘I didn’t. I was terrified of ringing you up.’
I smiled and put my arm through his. ‘Well, I’m very glad you did. You know what I want now?’
‘What?’
‘One of those enormous chocolate brownies.’
After
‘This is all wrong,’ Sonia said.
‘Wrong? How wrong?’
‘It’s not the way I remembered it.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Look.’ She gestured out of the window at the shallow gravel shore where boats were turned turtle and lay under their tarpaulins in a long line.
‘Yes?’
‘Bonnie.’ She spoke with a stern patience. ‘How are we going to push a car into this? I thought there was a place that went down steeply so we could simply let off the handbrake and roll it.’
‘What shall we do?’ I heard the wildness in my voice.
‘Hang on.’
She got out of the car and I joined her. Our feet crunched over the gravel and we stood by the water’s edge, where little ripples ran over the stones.
‘That’s what I was remembering.’ Sonia pointed to her left. I could just make out the steep concrete sides of the reservoir wall.
‘We can’t get the car there.’
‘That’s right.’
‘So it’s no good.’
‘We have to think of something else.’
‘What?’
‘Give me a moment.’
‘We could drive the car somewhere else. Push it off a cliff.’
‘Which cliff?’
‘I don’t know. Cornwall? They have cliffs in Cornwall, don’t they?’
‘You want us to drive to Cornwall?’
‘It’s an idea anyway.’
‘It’ll be light by the time we get there.’
‘We could drive there, find somewhere, wait until nighttime and then do it.’
‘I don’t think that sounds like a good idea at all.’
‘What, then?’
‘We have to do this now, Bonnie. And here.’
‘We can’t. You’ve just said so. If we tried, it would just get stuck with the water up to its sills and then where would we be?’
‘We can’t push the car in. Maybe that would be riskier anyway.’
‘Riskier than what?’
‘Than just putting it in the water.’
‘You mean the body?’
Sonia crouched down, twitched the tarpaulin off one of the boats and craned to peer underneath. ‘There’s a pair of oars.’
‘I don’t like this.’
‘We could put it in the boat, row out and push it in there.’
‘You think?’
‘We’d have to weigh it down first.’ She looked around. ‘There are stones and bits of rubble.’
I sat down on the shore. The inky water glinted and slapped and a sharp breeze stung my cheeks. I put my head on my knees and wrapped my arms around my legs. If I could make myself very, very small, perhaps I could disappear. ‘I’m not sure I can do this.’
‘It’s too late for that, Bonnie,’ Sonia said, with a hissing urgency. ‘If you can’t do it for yourself, you’re going to have to do it for me. You got me into this.’
‘You’re right.’ I stood up again. ‘Sorry. Tell me what to do.’
I walked along the shore, picking up rubble and large stones, then returned to Sonia who had turned over a small boat. ‘Help me drag this to the shore,’ she said.
Together we pulled it along the shingle until its bow was nosing the water.
‘Now the body.’
Pulling it out of the boot was even harder than getting it in. We had to haul it by the arms. The rug slid off and there was no way of escaping him: how the head bumped and lolled, the legs splayed, the weight of him. I kept my eyes half shut, or sometimes closed them entirely, pulling and jerking blindly. At last he tumbled out and lay at our feet.
Similar Books
